


A Moment (Kinda) Alone

by Itsyaboi44



Category: Critical Role
Genre: Pike is a bard, Scanlan is a cleric, a little hurt/comfort, also some of their personality traits swapped, class swap, mostly just the gnomes talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:34:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25649614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itsyaboi44/pseuds/Itsyaboi44
Summary: Scanlan is forced to confront his feelings about a certain white-haired bard in Vox Machina.
Relationships: Scanlan Shorthalt/Pike Trickfoot
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	A Moment (Kinda) Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, first time posting a fic.
> 
> I actually just wrote this entire fic last night for Pikelan Day, with minimum proofreading this morning. So enjoy what is probably a sleep deprived, mess of a story. Sorry if its garbage lmao.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

“…Whatever task it is you ask of me, I will do my best to complete for you. I will follow your lead and guidance to where I am needed. Although, if you deem me worthy of it, I have a favor to ask of you Knowing Mistress. Please, please, watch over and guide Vox Machina in my coming absence. I worry about them when I am unable to travel with them, and I fear about what may happen if one of them were to fall. I know that it is a hefty ask of you, considering they will rarely ever look out for their own wellbeing, but they mean so much to me. I do love them all. A lot.”

Scanlan thinks back to the intense vision he had received earlier today. She had shown him a pitch-black darkness lurking beneath a tower in Emon, followed by a guttural laugh, something that he still is able to hear in his mind. Now, there were several towers in Emon, especially some towers that seemed a bit shady, but he knew better than to question the infinite wisdom of a goddess. She showed all that he needed to see. He had faith that he would be able to work it out once he got there, the mystery always seemed to clear up in the past.

Scanlan pauses for a few seconds before continuing, “Thank you for the blessings today, and the days yet to come.”

Finishing the prayer, Scanlan feels a warmth radiating from the symbol of The Knowing Mistress, dangling from a chain around his neck. A comfortable warmth, akin to sitting around one of the various fireplaces in De Rolo castle. The warmth spreads, directly from his symbol, up his chest and finally seeming to rest around his shoulders. Almost feeling like a pair of spectral hands comforting him. He is flooded with a sense of serenity, yet he can’t shake the strangeness of the sensations. The once stagnant air in the room around him slowly picks up into a slight breeze. An elderly, yet calming, voice seems to carry in the wind, whispering so faintly that he might just be imagining things.

“Oh, dear little one, I would never be so cruel as to send you on a mission and leave them on their own. You have put your trust and faith in me, and that is something I do not take lightly. You need not fret about their safety, for they will be under my ever-watchful gaze until you are able return to them. If they are truly that important to you, then they are important to me. And to show the truth in what I am promising to you Scanlan, I believe that one of your friends is coming to speak to you,” the whisper speaks to him before the breeze comes to a halt.

Immediately, Scanlan’s mind races at the implications of, seemingly, having a conversation with a goddess. Ioun has never addressed him like that, one-on-one. He has only ever received cryptic one words answers to his questions or sudden gut feelings on what needs to be done. To have Ioun herself talk to him and promise him the favor he asked of her, is, simply, a turn of events that he did not expect. Perhaps, he is getting more powerful than he thought, and that is a whole other can of worms that does not needs to be opened tonight. One panic attack at a time would be nice.

Finally, blinking open his eyes, Scanlan sits in a quiet moment of reflection at what has just transpired. His symbol, no longer holding any warmth, now has a faint, purplish glow surrounding it. Usually the glow is only there when he accesses his magic, and it tends to be a flash of light. But the dim encompassing the symbol now appears to be sticking to it. Her presence has still not left him. Strange.

It is relieving though, to know that his pleas are not falling on deaf ears. Knowing that his friends - well, his family – are going to be well taken care of, it’s freeing to feel the weight off his chest. The constant guilt in having to say goodbye to them can be crushing at times. Watching, again and again, as they leave to go fight whatever terrifying beasts they may come across. He really should be there with them. What if something were to go wrong?

Wait, hold on, what did Ioun say about one of his friends?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Scanlan is roused from the inner thoughts of his mind by a soft tapping on the other side of his door. Slowly picking himself up from the floor, he walks over to his bedroom door, cracking it slightly, and peeks outside into the hallway.

Standing on the other side of the door, dressed in a simple white night shirt and a pair of loose, comfy, black pants is Pike Trickfoot. Her long, white hair is down from the quite eccentric buns and braids that she usually keeps it tied up in. It’s strange to see her like this. He is so accustomed to seeing her with rings covering her fingers, a sly smile always on her lips, and a sense of confidence that Scanlan is in awe of from time to time. At this moment though, all of the confidence has seemed to have left her. The attention and presence she commands nowhere to be seen from her. The overly flirtatious, sometimes reckless, bard in Vox Machina has very quickly become one of his closest friends, and also, someone that confuses him more than any other in his life. He certainly knows better than anyone that her obvious and constant flirtations are a fun game to play. She seems to flirt with everyone under the sun, no matter the gender or species. Although, her attention seems to be caught by him more than any possible partner. She does flirt with him more than any other, calling him the “light of her life”, to “her future husband”, to, most egregiously, “the sexiest damn cleric she ever laid eyes on.” That last one is almost certainly untrue, but hey, the compliments are nice, and she seems to revel in the blushes she elicits from her words. But what makes her so confusing to him is that he can’t tell anymore if her flirting with him is a game anymore. At first, it was just a playful back and forth that was a lot of fun to participate in. But lately, she has opened up so much more about her feelings, and how strong and serious those feelings are, that he feels like he has to be careful around her now. He truly doesn’t know if he feels the same about her. He knows that he loves to be around her, and no one is able to make him laugh like she can, but, sometimes, she looks at him with such a naked adoration, and it can be a bit overwhelming at times. He loves her, he knows that at least, but he isn’t sure if he is in love with her. And hurting her is the last thing that Scanlan wants to do. 

“Oh, hello Pike.” Scanlan says, trying to keep the shock from his voice, but ultimately failing to hide the surprise in his slightly trembly voice. It seems Ioun was telling the truth about watching over them at least. 

“…Oh, hey.” She almost sounds caught off guard that he opened the door that she just knocked on. “I was just, uh, in the hallway, and I, uh saw the light under your door, and I figured I would… uh…” She trails off, never quite finishing her sentence. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, if I was I keeping you awake, I can snuff out the…”

“NO! Uh, I mean no, you’re fine, don’t worry about.” Pike interrupts him, rushing to cut him off, “I was actually looking for you. I kinda want to talk with you about something.”

“Oh okay, no problem.” Scanlan opens the door fully, taken aback, allowing Pike to enter his room, “What did you have in mind?”

Pike takes a couple of quick steps into his room before spinning on the heel of foot to face him. Her hand is gripping tightly onto the hair behind her head, and she almost looks… nervous to talk to him. Nervous would never be a word that Scanlan would describe Pike as. Pike would walk up to an ancient dragon and command it to roll over and play dead without breaking a sweat. To see her visibly nervous about something is terrifying to Scanlan. She’s the bravest one of the group. If she’s scared, he should be too.

Pike mutters to herself for a second before clearing her throat and speaking up, “I know this is a kind of a stupid question, but you’re like a really religious man right?”

What about his faith could have her so nervous to talk to him? “I mean, yeah I guess so. Pike, what’s up? You’re scaring me a little here.” 

Pike takes a couple of centering, deep breaths before pushing on, “You remember Wilhand my grandfather?” she asks him. Scanlan nods slightly, thinking about the man that raised her and Grog, and an incredibly kindhearted gnome. He has only met him, maybe, twice, but he seemed like a good man. Pike quickly continues on, “Well, it’s just that he isn’t getting any younger. Plus, Grog and I haven’t been back to visit and check up on him in a hot minute. I’m just, uh, what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Worried about him?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I was kind of hoping that you could, uh, pray and ask Ioun to look out for him. You know, make sure that he is safe and healthy and all that jazz.” She looks at him with a small, hopeful smile. 

“I don’t know what Jazz is, but I can ask her to look out for his health and safety if you want me to.” As soon as Scanlan finishes his sentence, he can see Pike’s shoulders sag in relief. “But,” the tension set in Pike’s shoulders immediately returns at the word, “I believe that she may be more willing to listen if it came from you.”

“What?! But aren’t you like her favorite person? What if she doesn’t want to listen to me? And I’ll probably just fuck it up anyway, I mean, I don’t know how to pray to a god.” She continues in a panicked rambling before being being cut silent when Scanlan takes her hand in his own.

“Pike, please, take a couple of deeps breaths with me.” He takes in slow, purposeful breaths and watches as Pike slowly begins to match her pace with his own. The panic in her eyes subsides ever so slightly as looks at their joined hands in disbelief. “Okay, good. Pike, I would be more than happy to lead you through a prayer if you want some help. The only reason I suggested it is because The Knowing Mistress might be more receptive to you since you are his family and the love that you have for him. You asking her will mean a lot more than me asking her.”

Pike tightens her grip on his hand, a tear slowly falling down her face before ending its journey by being caught in the worried line of her mouth, “You’ll help me?” Scanlan squeezes her hand back in a silent “yes”. “Okay, tell me what I need to do.”

Releasing her hand, Scanlan sits cross legged on the floor in front of her, and pats the empty space, inviting her to join him. She follows his instructions with no further encouragement needed. He then offers up his own hands to be held. She, once again looks at them in disbelief, then slowly slides her hands back into his. She grabs a hold of his hands like she was dangling off a cliff and he was the only thing keeping her from falling to her death. Which Scanlan would normally think as endearing, if he wasn’t so worried about his fingers being broken in her grasp. She really is so much stronger than he is. Her hands are a little clammy too, but, even surprising himself, he is okay with it. He tries not to think too hard about that. 

“Okay, Pike, you’re going to want to close your eyes and try to focus. Think about Wilhand and think about all of the memories you have shared with him.” 

Scanlan watches her close her eyes. Her eyebrows scrunch up in an effort to follow his instructions. A couple of minutes pass before in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, Pike asks, “What do I do now?

“All you need to do now is talk to her Pike.”

Pike’s eyebrows shoot up, “What do I say, I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of a god, Scanlan.”

Contemplating on this for a second, Scanlan speaks up, “Imagine that you were just talking to me. Talk like you would with me.”

Pike’s lips curve into a smirk and a single eyebrow raises, “Wouldn’t that be a bit blasphemous to talk to a goddess in that way. I mean, I guess I could…”

Scanlan tries to sputter out, well anything really to stop her, “Um, no, no that’s not necessary… well, uh, try to talk like you would with, uh…”

Pike gives him a reassuring smile and in the softest tone he has ever heard from her says, “Don’t worry, I know what you meant Scanlan.” Bless Ioun her eyes are closed. Scanlan doesn’t want to know what would happen if she saw him like this. Flustered so completely, face as red as a beet, all due to her words. Once again, he tries not to think too hard about it. It’s only natural to blush at that, right?

Pike opens her mouth to speak again, “Hello Ms. Ioun ma’am, its Pike Trickfoot, current friend and future wife of Scanlan Shorthalt. I know I’ve never prayed to you, or anyone for that matter, before, but, you know, it’s better late than never. Anyways, I came to talk to you about my grandad. He is a really sweet man, and I want to make sure he is looked out for. He’s kind of a devout follower of Sarenrae though, I think that’s her name, but it couldn’t hurt to try to have two gods on your side right? I don’t know, but please, if you can, just send some of your godly powers to him. Sometimes he can’t reach his favorite tea set, and when Grog and I aren’t there he tries to climb up the counter to grab it. He hasn’t had an accident doing that yet, but honestly, only a matter of time. Anyways, blessed be to you and please keep him safe, bye.”

Pike opens her eyes and looks at Scanlan, sending a shiver down his spine from the sudden intimacy, “Did it work? Do you think she heard me?”

A familiar sensation of warmth creeps in from Scanlan’s neck, originating from his symbol yet again. The slight breeze, once again, whips around the two of them, Pike’s eyes wide at the sudden change. This time Scanlan knows what to listen for and tries to tune out the rest of the world. Instead of a whisper, he hears an amused chuckle carrying on the winds, followed by the soft elderly voice of Ioun talking to him, “She really is something else that Pike, isn’t she? I will keep my eye out for Wilhand, as well.” 

The breeze slows to the, usual, still air that flows calmly in the room.

Pike looks at him with widened eyes and agape mouth. She asks, “Was, was that her?”

He nods. “Yes, and I believe that she has heard you. And is willing to help.”

Scanlan is tugged at a breakneck speed into her open embrace and is hugged so tightly that for a second, he is worried his eyes might pop from the pressure. Pike buries her face in the crook of his neck, and he can feel her shaking and sobbing into his shirt. Surprised, Scanlan just presses both of his hand to her back, just to hold her as the sobs wrack through her whole body. 

The sobs slowly come to a halt, as Scanlan continues to rub comforting circles on her back. She leans back from the tear stains covering his shirt, so she is looking eye to eye with him.

“Scanlan.”

Looking at her, with her eyes full of love and admiration and knowing that those feelings are aimed at him, all that Scanlan can manage is a “mhm.”

“Thank you. I was so worried for so long. You have no idea how much of a relief this to me. Wow, I am so lucky to know you, especially so given that I can even call you a friend.”

A strange, new feeling comes over Scanlan. He doesn’t know how to place it or where it came from. His eyes are just staring at her lips as they move. He’s never really thought about it before, but she is everything that he has ever dreamed of in a partner. Funny, kind, clever, smart… beautiful. Oh gods, what’s happening right now? He forces his brain to snap out of whatever trance it’s fallen into.

“N-N-No problem, Pike. Glad I-I could help.”

Pike pulls him back into a hug, one that he reciprocates, and places a quick peck on his cheek. The peck sends a surge of magical energy throughout his body, inspiring him. She smiles and disappears into a golden doorway, seemingly teleporting away. 

Scanlan’s hand immediately flies up to his cheek to rub at the spot where she had kissed gim. It still tingles where her lips touched, but that was because of the magic right? Must’ve been. No other explanation for it.  
Scanlan blows out the torches in his room, sending the room into darkness. Hopping up onto his bed and getting under the covers, he tries his best to not think about whatever these feelings are. He tells himself that he is just tired and whatever these new feelings are will fade after a good nights rest.. There is just one problem:

He really isn’t that good of a liar.


End file.
